Montana!!

We're in Billings, Montana for a 1-week vacation! We left the day after the drama performance, drove for two days, and arrived here the evening of the 24th.

This has been a crazy trip! To begin with, when we tried to leave Mascoutah, the limo refused to start. It took awhile to get it going, but once Papa managed to do so, we left anyway.

A couple blocks down the road, the car died again.

Papa managed to start it once more... and we continued. Mom commented that doing so was one of the stupidest, most insane things this family has ever done. The next morning we had even more difficulty getting the car to start, but we finally made it to Billings!

On the way, we stopped at Wall Drug

and at Custer Battlefield.

Note: Knut is NOT taller than I am! Observe him closely... he's standing on tiptoe. 

Knut and I each trying to be taller than the other...

A longstanding tradition at Grandma's house is to have a "tweety party" for one meal. All the food must be yellow, and all the dishes/utensils/etc. tweety-themed. 

Papa does not enjoy tweety parties. 

Bjorn and Rosemary, however, do enjoy them. 

Stay tuned for a post about our camping trip!

Drama

Thanks be to God, the Drama performance went off MUCH better than I had hoped! The dress rehearsal was horrendous, but the actual performance was great. The actors all did marvelously!

Unfortunately, I hugely misjudged the length of the first play, and the entire performance ended up lasting three hours! Next year, I'll be sure to choose shorter plays. ;) 

 I've been so blessed to work with such a talented, creative, and (for the most part) well-behaved cast. Of course the summer hasn't been without its glitches...  I had a few days when I ended up stressed, discouraged, and exhausted... but the Lord has taught me so much, and the cast is amazing! 

Now, for some photos from cast and family members:

Knut getting his makeup on (with great objection) 

At the end of A Little Princess

Sarah and I were literally dragged onstage by the cast at the end! 

"Jack O. Reo" (Johnathan C.) and "Chip A. Hoy" (Knut) in The Great Cookie Caper

"Misty Fields" (Jenna G.), "Smith" (John P.), "Chip A. Hoy" (Knut), and "Wesson" (Joe P.) in The Great Cookie Caper

Bjorn the Monkey

Potluck dinner after the performance

We were unable to get a video of The Great Cookie Caper, but I will be uploading A Little Princess to YouTube in a few days. 

Drama Club, Bright Lights

Pictures from Drama Club last Friday:

Picture by Josiah ( http://josiah-notperfectyet.blogspot.com/  )

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Cecily 

Picture by Josiah ( http://josiah-notperfectyet.blogspot.com/  ) 

Bright Lights

As some of you may know, my friend Jael and I are starting a Bright Lights group in the fall. (If you don't know what Bright Lights is... click here or copy and paste the link: http://tomorrowsforefathers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=54)

As I've been going through the leaders' training CDs, I've appreciated a lot of the points that Sarah Mally makes, but one of the biggest things I've noticed is how ministry-oriented she is. Her entire family looks at everything as a possible mission field, from the conversations they get into in the store to praying in public at a restaurant to holding conferences all over the nation. It struck me, how many times do we walk right past a ministry opportunity because we're afraid? How many times are we put into a situation where God could use us in amazing ways, but we don't utilize it?

As a student right now, my primary responsibility is to prepare for ministry... to invest time in personal devotions, Scripture memorization, etc. in addition to academics. That should be my number one goal right now, but how often do I skip devotions or just read a few verses instead of really delving into His word?

The human mind has the capabilities to memorize the entire Bible, but I don't stick with memorizing even one short book of it over the summer.

These CDs have been really convicting. They've encouraged me to spend a lot more time with God... to spend more time praying about how I can be ministering to others... to spend more time getting to know Him.

If you don't mind, I'd appreciate prayer for faithfulness in all these personal disciplines. :)